Summer is a heaven-like season since you can enjoy juicy and tasty fruits as healthy snacks and drinks. Out of all the well-known fruits you’ve been familiar with, like watermelons, mangos, or pineapples, passion fruits may sound a little strange.
What does passion fruit taste like? The seeds are crunchy with not much taste, and the flavor can range from sweet to very sour. Homegrown passion fruits will be sweeter than the ones sold at supermarkets.
It’s time to unveil all the mysteries of this exotic plant!
What Is Passion Fruit?
Passion fruit is a warm-temperate, subtropical, and tropical vine – also called maracuja in South America.
You can find maracuja in many places worldwide, like Europe, Australia, South and North America, and Asia.
They have an oval shape, being around six inches in length and weighing around two pounds. The surface features deep vertical grooves and a smooth skin that turns from green as unripe to orange-yellow as mature.
Maracuja contains a lot of black seeds inside and a white pulp covering the seeds, which tastes tangy and sour in flavor.
It’s possible to either eat the vine fresh or add them to sherbets and juices.
What Does Passion Fruit Taste Like?
The first time you try maracuja, you can taste a tart and fruity flavor, much with a hint of mango, pineapple, and peach. If you get a medium-ripe one, it’s both tart and sweet but primarily tart.
Maracuja also delivers a powerful scent, making it taste even sweeter and fresher. With a deep feeling, you can also notice the smell of citrus plants.
The fruit’s pulp and seeds are edible, yet you’ll usually find it made into syrup form.
Is Passion Fruit Delicious?
It’s a thumbs-up for us. These tropical plants are delicious since they provide the right-to-the-point amount of zinc that blends perfectly with their sweetness.
That’s why they’re a popular ingredient in numerous desserts, syrups, pies, cocktails, ice creams, and many more.
While maracuja is a subtropical and tropical plant, it delivers a flavorful sensation. Some tropical plants don’t have a strong taste, like lychee or rambutan, but maracuja is different.
We can see it appear alongside mango, strawberries, bananas, and peaches as additional toppings on ice creams or fresh salad dishes.
How About Commercial Passion Fruit?
If you intend to buy a bag of maracuja, remember that commercial fruits you encounter are not the same as local fruits.
Most passion fruits in Europe and America are imported products because these plants don’t thrive there.
That means people have to harvest the vine when it’s still under-ripe or out of season. Since the process of getting ripe happens during transport, the final texture is never as flavorful as fresh, locally harvested vines.
Like mangosteen, banana, pineapple, papaya, or any tropical plant, you can scarcely find nicely ripe maracuja within your country.
How To Eat Passion Fruit?
Some of you may think eating maracuja is complicated looking at its seed and vibrant juice. But actually, you can eat it fresh anywhere anytime.
For us, the most enjoyable way to serve maracuja is as-it or all-natural without adding any ingredients like sugar. This way, you can feel its genuine sour flavor to the fullest.
Here are straightforward steps to try this vine:
- Cut it in halves, then scoop out the fleshy center using a spoon
- Add some sugar if you’re into extra sweetness, and dip your fresh dish into cubes of crushed ice before enjoying it.
This vine’s sourness is not pleasant for everyone. So, if you’re not used to the taste, you can try enjoying it with ice cream or some yogurt.
Maracuja intertwines itself perfectly with rich, creamy desserts since it can neutralize that creaminess while lifting the overall flavor.
Thus, it will be an absorbing presence on white chocolate mousse, vanilla ice cream, or cheesecake.
How To Select Passion Fruit?
To choose fresh, juicy products, keep these pointers in mind:
- Purple products are edible, but they might taste more tart.
- Green citrus is less ripe. It’s better to go for ones with a green portion and the remaining part starting to darken.
- Pick heavy ones since their inside is pretty juicy.
- Avoid excessively winked, or super hard ones since these plants have passed the peak of ripeness.
Final Words
If you’ve never tried passion fruit, you’re literally missing out on a fascinating citrusy texture. The tart or tangy to sweet flavor is so addicting and sure to wow your taste.
We hope you’ve been fond of reading this post of “ what does passion fruit taste like?” and will give this fancy fruit a try. Be it a snack, drink, or cooking ingredient, maracuja should lend itself so well to any dish.
